For those who plan on making replicas of the Batmobile for re-sale, be warned: on Wednesday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Batmobile should receive protection under copyright law, meaning that copies of the vehicle by unlicensed individuals or companies is illegal.
In its ruling, the court referred to the Batmobile as an "automotive character" and stated that because of its unique and distinctive design, it deserves copyright protection under the law.
The ruling marked a win for DC Comics, who sued Mark Towle, a mechanic who created replicas of Batmobiles from the 1960s Batman television series and 1989 film. Those replicas went for $90,000 each, with Towle arguing that the Batmobile is only a "useful article," but not something artistic that would fall under copyright law.
However, the court disagreed with Towle.
"As Batman so sagely told Robin, 'In our well-ordered society, protection of private property is essential,'" states the opinion, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. "Here, we conclude that the Batmobile character is the property of DC, and Towle infringed upon DC's property rights when he produced unauthorized derivative works of the Batmobile as it appeared in the 1966 television show and the 1989 motion picture."
Although DC Comics doesn't own the rights to the 1960s Batman series, the court pointed out that the style of the Batmobile has remained similar enough throughout the years – not just in the comics, but also in films and on TV – that the company should receive copyright protection for the vehicle as seen in the 1960s series, as well as any other media that it appears in.
"In addition to its status as 'a highly-interactive vehicle, equipped with high-tech gadgets and weaponry used to aid Batman in fighting crime,' the Batmobile is almost always bat-like in appearance, with a bat-themed front end, bat wings extending from the top or back of the car, exaggerated fenders, a curved windshield, and bat emblems on the vehicle," stated Sandra Ikuta, who wrote the Ninth Circuit Court's opinion.
"This bat-like appearance has been a consistent theme throughout the comic books, television series, and motion picture, even though the precise nature of the bat-like characteristics have changed from time to time."
It's clear that the Court has a good understanding of the Batmobile, at least according to the full written opinion by Ikuta, which includes the phrase, "Holy copyright law, Batman!"
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